


Protect

by TheFairysPath (friendlyneighborhoodfairy)



Series: The Path I Took (WWTDP 2018) [6]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Burns, Cana and Gray are siblings, F/F, Fire, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Natsu is a paramedic, Persian food, dean martin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-25 22:44:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16207208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/friendlyneighborhoodfairy/pseuds/TheFairysPath
Summary: While flirting in the kitchen, Cana accidentally causes disaster and Lucy gets hurt.(Fic #6 forWhen We Take Different PathsWLW week.)





	Protect

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt = protect + Lucana. Based on a true experience, though I didn't get injured quite as badly.

"That smells amazing," Lucy sighed, coming into the kitchen.

Cana grinned at her from the stove and poked her with the handle of a spoon.

"Fesenjan the way my mom taught me. You're getting a taste of my heritage tonight."

"Sounds good to me." Lucy cuddled her girlfriend's back and kissed her neck, swaying to the strains of Dean Martin on Cana's phone. "Is that traditional Persian music?"

"Ha ha." Cana stuck her tongue out, then laughed for real. "For your information, I am claiming Deano in the name of all that is good and holy in the motherland. He's ours now. Go get your own."

Lucy giggled and kissed her again, groping Cana's side as her lips slid up toward her ear. Closing her eyes, Cana leaned back into the embrace while Lucy nipped at her ear, and—

Cana accidentally knocked over the cooking oil. It clattered across the counter, spilling everywhere.

The stove went up in flames.

"Cana!" Lucy screamed. She jerked Cana back, Cana already shoving away from the burning surface and tripping both of them.

A drip of oil ran down the front of the oven, and with it ran the flames.

"Shit!" Lucy shouted. Cana had tumbled down onto her ass and was sitting on the floor staring at the fire with the jerky, indecisive movements of someone who didn't know what to do. She backed into the cabinets. But the fire was coming toward her. It had all happened in seconds and there wasn't time to react. In the next instant, Cana would be burned—

Lucy reached through the flames and twisted the stove knob to off.

She let out a cry as she did it, the fire even hotter than she'd expected, but the flames died a few moments later and they were left with thick smoke and eerie silence.

"Gods," Lucy groaned, slumping back. Cana shot to her feet.

"What the hell did you do?" Cana exclaimed in fearful concern, taking her elbow and peering at her blistered hand. "Shit, shit, shit."

"Fuck, it smells," Lucy said, calmer but still tense. She scrunched her nose. "Not me, I mean the air."

The scent of burned plastic issued from where the head had pocked the front of the microwave.

"We probably shouldn't stay in here," Cana said, ushering them across the living room and out the front door.

"I don't know why the smoke alarm didn't go off. That's worrying— Fuck!" Lucy interrupted herself and grabbed her upper arm, burned hand tensing like a claw. "Geezes it hurts. Oh god…"

Cana already had her phone out.

"I'm calling Natsu."

"Mm…" Lucy breathed shallow and careful, trying to rein in her body.

Cana stood at attention holding the phone to her ear, but a moment later she swore. "He's not picking up. Gonna try my brother—"

"I'll be okay," Lucy said, without much belief.

"Gray knows some medical stuff; he'll know what to do for it at least. I think we should take you to urgent care… Hey, Gray? Oh, thank the goddess I got a hold of you…"

* * *

The little beat-up Honda pulled into their lot not ten minutes later and Cana sprang forward, awash in relief when she saw Natsu in the car too.

"Thank god," she said, pulling Gray into a hug and clutching him tight. She turned to Natsu, who was carrying a medical kit and wore an expression between worry and professional attention. "She's blistered pretty bad. It's gotten worse in the few minutes since I called you. It was an oil fire, if that makes a difference."

"Damn. Where is she?"

Cana led the way into the flat and to their bathroom, where Lucy sat on the edge of the tub panting.

"Hey, Lucy," Natsu said, kneeling next to her. "I'm so sorry. Can I see?"

She held out her arm without speaking, tears on her cheeks.

"It hurts a lot, huh?" he asked conversationally as he inspected it.

"Yeah," she whispered.

"Damn," Gray said in a low voice, standing behind Cana in the doorway.

"I'm so glad we have a paramedic in the family," Cana sighed, leaning back against him. "Thanks for lending him to us."

Gray laughed softly, but it was brief. "What happened?"

"It was stupid." Cana closed her eyes. "I was cooking and knocked over some oil. The fire went everywhere. I froze, freaking out and not sure what to do, and Lucy reached over and turned the stove off. Stopped the flat from burning down."

"The fire was coming at Cana," Lucy said from the tub, sounding sick and hissing whenever Natsu touched her. "It was moving pretty fast—the oil sprayed everywhere…"

"Oil fires are bad," Natsu said, applying something to Lucy's arm. "I'm glad you called me. Cana, do you have any ice? It'll help the pain and swelling."

Cana went to the freezer in a daze and grabbed an icepack, staring at the burned kitchen.

"Holy shit. That was a big fire," Gray said. He took the ice pack from her numb hands. "Why don't you sit down?"

She followed his pointing finger and landed on the sofa with a  _whump._

A minute later he joined her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Unscathed." She fiddled with her cuticles. "She protected me."

"Yep." He smiled softly.

"No, I mean deliberately. Fuck." She stared up at the ceiling, trying to keep her tears from falling. "If I hadn't been so clumsy…"

"Hey, hey, you couldn't have predicted that."

Gray pulled her into a hug and Cana curled into him, feeling like little kids again, when they curled up together under the same blanket and whispered stories to each other instead of taking their nap. He rubbed her back in long, slow movements, stroking the tension from her shoulders.

"She loves you very much," he said, kissing her forehead. "I do too. I'm really glad you're okay. And Lucy is going to be okay too. Thankfully it's her left hand, and Natsu is really good at his job."

"I just keep thinking, if I hadn't knocked it over…like I can go back and change that tiny thing, and we wouldn't be here."

"Well, we are here. You are not at fault: it might have easily been Lucy or me or someone else who froze, and you got burned… I don't think Lucy would change what she did—it was probably a knee-jerk reaction to seeing her loved on in danger. You're just going to have to accept that she loves you."

Cana laughed wetly, which she knew had been his intention.

"Thanks."

"Out of curiosity, what were you making for dinner?"

"Fesenjan. Lucy's never had it."

"Mom's recipe?" he asked, smiling. "God, that makes me hungry. Where's Lucy's favorite takeout place? You and I can go get dinner while Natsu patches her up."

Cana nodded, feeling better with something to do. She could be a protector, too.

"Sergio's. It's just down the street."


End file.
